A "simple" question

[pacanis]

This has been bugging me, like some things do that you get in your head and can't shake. And I've got some free time, so I thought I'd ask the group rather than waiting for the member's response to my question...
What is a "simple" pasta?
When someone says they are having simple pasta, do they mean they are having spaghetti, or sauce without meat, or no sauce at all (maybe just butter), or jarred sauce???
Then as I was watching the basketball game, it hit me... do they mean a pasta that isn't stuffed? So in other words, raviolis, baked ziti, those are NOT simple pastas, but rigs, penne, spaghetti... those are simple pastas. Basically pasta you simply boil and toss with some sauce, any sauce.

I've seen folks say they are having a simple salad and I always took it to mean a salad without a lot of ingredients, but maybe I'm wrong there, too. Does the adjective "simple" denote something in cooking talk, or is the term subjective and mean different things to different people?

 

[AmandaN80]

Good question lol I take it to mean some pasta dish that they dont do much to or add much to. If I was going to make a 'simple pasta' it would no doubt be penne with just a drizzle of EVOO and some cheese. IDK though what others think it means

 

[Andy M.]

I think in this case, it's a quick easy recipe. Pasta with a fresh or fast sauce that doesn't have a lot of prep or extended cooking times.

 

[Kevin Rayoni]

i agree. it means "easy"

 

[jennyema]

A recipe is described as "simple" when it's easy and doesn't have a lot of ingredients.

A simple pasta would be cooked penne or angel hair mixed with sauteed arugula or spinach and garlic and tossed with fresh herbs and a little parmesan cheese.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I think in those cases "simple" tends to mean "humble" or "modest" more than "easy".

 

[pacanis]

So it's easy, quick and without a lot of ingredients.
So tonight I might have a simple steak?

I'm thinking it also needs to be a dish that could be quite elaborate. Quick, easy and with few ingredients can describe too many foods that one would never describe as simple. Maybe that is where it becomes subjective, too. What might be a simple dish to one person who makes it a lot might not be a simple dish to another.
Maybe

ETA: maybe this is where humble plays in.

 

[msmofet]

HMMMMMMMMMM Come to think of it I rarely use the word "simple" when cooking.

 

[jabbur]

I think of simple as something quick and easy with few steps, ingredients are common everyday staples and are few in number.

 

[Hoot]

I used to be accused of being a simpleton, but as I grew, I became more complicated....
What does all that mean???
Who knows!!!
I reckon it means "easy" as most of the others have said.

 

[roadfix]

That would be furikake spaghetti for me.

 

[dcSaute]

where's the Italians?

I rather suspect the english translation of "simple pasta" - while word-for-letter-potentially correct,,,, isn't what the Italian kitchen had in mind.

example: kindergarden - okay, german das Kind is "the child" - die Kinder is plural. if your german speaking penpal writes and asks "how many childs do you have?" you'll get the gist of 'proper meaning' translations. you know what they mean, but is it 'zactly right???

oh and what's with the -garden bit? or in german "-garten" - you figger they stick 'em kiddies in the dirt (head/feet?) first to see iffin' they'll grow?
(do _not_ enroll you childs in kindergarten in December.....)

I've not found a good source for the Italian "simple pasta" translation - all I've found is recipes by description default - a pasta, a fat, a few herbs, maybe some cheese.

it fits the idea of "just a few ingredients"
it fits the idea of "peasant food"
it fits the idea of "easy"

 

[Andy M.]

The woman who made the original statement about making a simple pasta dish happens to be from an Italian background.

 

[Rocklobster]

I would have to say few ingredients, not a lot of prep, short time from pantry to table....

 

[dcSaute]

The woman who made the original statement about making a simple pasta dish happens to be from an Italian background.

I've got an Irish background. that does not mean I haul around large stones I expect people to kiss.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Your favorite pasta...tossed with any fresh herbs or not, Garlic, OO, Parmesan. Right now I would chop up a Home Grown D'mator and toss it in....Use what you have....make it taste good.


Enjoy!

 

[Aunt Bea]

Simple pasta is like my simple life.

Less money, more imagination.

 

[pacanis]

I've got an Irish background. that does not mean I haul around large stones I expect people to kiss.

Maybe not, but I'll bet it means you used to wear one of those pins that said, Kiss me, I'm the Blarney Stone.
Large rocks are heavy!


So let's say you make fresh pasta for dinner. That certainly wouldn't be called a simple pasta, would it? Certainly not as simple as reaching for a box in the cupboard.

 

[chopper]

I am with you Pacanis. Pasta is simple when it comes out of a box. When I actually make the pasta fresh it isn't quite do simple. That's my favorite definition for simple pasta!

 

[pacanis]

I am with you Pacanis. Pasta is simple when it comes out of a box. When I actually make the pasta fresh it isn't quite do simple. That's my favorite definition for simple pasta!

Hmmm, now I'm wondering if when someone says they made a simple salad they opened up a bag of greens. Which is more simple, opening up a bag of mixed greens or quartering a head of iceberg?
Is there a simple answer to this?

And Roadfix, any pasta I have to Google is not simple